A driver "forfeited the right of way" by speeding so excessively as she neared an intersection and caused a two-vehicle crash west of the Twin Cities that killed the other motorist, according to charges.
Charges: Driver's speed blamed for collision west of Twin Cities that killed other motorist
The defendant was traveling 76 mph in a 40 zone five seconds before the crash and still 49 mph at the point of impact, the criminal complaint read.
September 28, 2023 at 7:20PM
Linda M. Narine, 63, of Delano, was charged Wednesday in Wright County District Court with criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the collision on June 1 at an intersection in Buffalo that left 88-year-old Karl Blomgren, of Buffalo, dead.
Narine was charged by summons and is due in court on Nov. 3. Messages were left with her seeking her response to the allegations.
According to the complaint:
Blomgren was turning left in his car westbound from Catlin Street, where he had a stop sign, onto southbound Hwy. 25 about 9:50 a.m. Narine, with no traffic light or stop sign to observe, was heading north on Hwy. 25 in an SUV and struck Blomgren's car as he turned.
A State Patrol analysis based on video evidence from numerous exterior building cameras along Hwy. 25 determined that Narine was traveling 76 mph in a 40 mph zone five seconds before the crash and still 49 mph at the point of impact, the criminal complaint said.
Narine's speed was so excessive as she neared the intersection that Blomgren couldn't reasonably gauge that he was at risk of being hit while making the turn, according to Wright County Attorney Brian Lutes.
So, despite only Narine being legally free to enter the intersection, "by excessively speeding, [she] forfeited the right of way," the complaint continued.
Narine told a patrol sergeant a week later that she believed Blomgren's car stopped at the intersection before he entered the intersection. She said she was unsure whether she braked at all, and did not know how fast she was going or what the speed limit was at that point of the highway.
Blomgren graduated from Anoka High School in 1952, served in the Marines and was a Korean War veteran, his online obituary read. He was an engineer with Honeywell, retired and then owned and operated an antique store in Paynesville, Minn., the obituary added.
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